releve Virginia Division of Natural Heritage, see http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/nh_plotform_instructions.pdf
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated?
no
Stem Observation Area
400
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Height
34
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
6
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
75
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot is located in a relatively small stand of rich upland forest that occupies a branched ravine system on the bluffs above the James River. Blow-downs from Hurricane Isabel (2003) contributed a number of canopy gaps in and around the plot. The stand is a medium-aged, mixed forest of Liriodendron tulipifera, Fagus grandifolia, Carya spp., Liquidambar styraciflua, and Fraxinus americana, with Acer rubrum and Ulmus rubra mostly in the subcanopy. Outside the plot, Tilia americana var. americana is an important overstory associate in part of the stand. The herb layer is very lush with dominance patches of Asarum canadense, Podophyllum peltatum, Tiarella cordifolia var. collina, Packera obovata, and other species. Soil samples collected from the site contain moderately high calcium and magnesium levels, suggesting the influence of mafic intrusions or clasts in the underlying bedrock.